Morsi in court for espionage trial

Egypt's deposed president appears in court on charges of violence against protesters and conspiring with armed groups.

16 Feb 2014 09:14 GMT

Egypt's deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, has arrived in court to face charges of espionage, along with 35 other defendants.

Morsi is accused of inciting murder and using violence against protesters during his presidency that ended after he was ousted by the military in July.

The charges in Sunday's proceedings relate to the deaths of at least 10 people who were taking part in rallies outside the presidential palace in December 2012.

He is also charged with conspiring with terrorist organisations. Prosecutors say Morsi worked with the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

His two other charges are for escaping jail back in 2011 and for insulting the judiciary. Morsi could face the death penalty if found guilty of some of those charges.

"There hasn't been any evidence whatsoever because these are deeply politicized times in Egypt, and politicized charges," Abdullah al-Arian, assistant professor of history at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera.

"This case is not subject to the usual rigours of law enforcement, investigation, and evidence," al-Arian added. "This is one of four separate trials of Morsi, and in today's proceedings, the Egyptian government will try to delegitimize the former regime and put fear of other governments and to promote a strong Egyptian nationalism."